Bulls Accept Knicks` Gift

King`s 41 Not Enough

Anybody else would have taken the 26 Chicago turnovers and overturned the Chicago franchise.

Instead, the Knicks committed 23 of their own and gave the Bulls a 109-104 victory Friday night before 12,681 fans in the Stadium.

Michael Jordan had his second triple-double of the season--21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists--and Orlando Woolridge had 28 points, and still it almost wasn`t enough.

Fortunately, the Knicks apparently forgot about Bernard King, the National Basketball Association`s leading scorer, who finished with 41 points. He had 37 points midway through the fourth quarter, but seemingly disappeared down the stretch. He hit a basket with 1 minute 42 seconds left in the game that brought the Knicks within 102-100. Then twice in a row, he was passed up standing all alone in the corner. By the time he got his hands on the ball again, Wes Matthews and David Greenwood had upped the lead to 106-100.

King hit another jumper, then stole a pass and set up Pat Cummings to make it 106-104 with 29 seconds left. Jordan hit a free throw, King misfired on a three-point attempt and Caldwell Jones converted a pair of free throws to bring the Bulls` record to 27-31.

``Our half-court trap kept the ball out of King`s hands,`` explained Bulls` coach Kevin Loughery. ``If we hadn`t done such a good job with our trap, he would have scored in the 60s or 70s. This was the most aggressive trapping defense we`ve had all season.``

When the Knicks went to double-teaming Jordan, as has become the fashion around the league, the Bulls` rookie took to setting up his teammates, Woolridge in particular.

``I could tell I was going to get it,`` Jordan said of the triple-double. ``I was getting a lot of assists and rebounds. I wasn`t looking to score as much tonight. I was looking to pass off.``

Quintin Dailey, who only scored 9 points in 19 minutes of play, could be looking for trouble again. The controversial guard arrived late for Tuesday`s game against Cleveland at the Stadium and late for the Knicks` game. Players are supposed to report to the Stadium by 6 p.m. and Dailey arrived at 7 p.m. for the Knicks` game. He wouldn`t say why and left the locker room quickly.

Assistant coach Fred Carter, who is in charge of players` fines, said Dailey was stopped for a traffic ticket Tuesday. Carter said Dailey was fined for both violations.

In the void created by Dailey`s performance, Woolridge came on strong. He scored 27 points in three quarters, but sat down with 7:28 left in the game with his fifth foul. He reentered the game with less than three minutes to go and made one free throw.

``Oh, we needed this one real bad,`` said Woolridge, who admitted taking a personal interest in trying to turn the Bulls around. ``We worked too hard in the preseason and the first half. We can`t fold now. We have an obligation not only to ourselves and the coaches and the management but also to the fans. They`re ready for us now.

``This game was one of the key games of the year. We`re at that point where we`re looking for anything we can find to say we have some momentum going.``

Knicks` coach Hubie Brown just shook his head when asked why King was missing in action from the New York offense in the fourth quarter.

``A double-team trap does that,`` he said. ``It takes away some things and gives you others. They doubled one guy and it opened up other people. Unfortunately, they didn`t do the job.

``It`s difficult to win it at the end if you don`t get the shots. In the last quarter, our turnovers resulted in seven fast-break baskets for them.``

The Bulls had several opportunities to finish off the Knicks early and kicked them away.

``That`s what turnovers will do to you,`` said Jordan, who had seven himself. ``We have to be more careful with the ball. It turned out to be a sloppy game.``

Still, in a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter when Woolridge was sitting with five fouls, Jordan took control. Each time down the court, he would either score, set up a teammate or corral a rebound.

``Orlando was hot the whole game, but when he came out, I had to take up the slack,`` Jordan said. ``I tried to do everything I could to help the situation.

``I`m happy I got the triple-double,`` he said. ``I guess it means I`m a complete player who can pass, rebound, shoot and score.``